IBM z/OS Data Set Mobility Facility

Learn more about IBM z/OS Data Set Mobility Facility

Why IBM z/OS Data Set Mobility Facility?

Many IT organizations want to take advantage of the large-capacity volumes on today’s storage subsystems, but complex and disruptive data migrations negatively impact their business applications. Data conversion onto large volumes is time consuming and can involve long application outages. IBM z/OS® Data Set Mobility Facility (zDMF) helps to move data with greater flexibility, efficiency and reliability at a lower cost.

Migrations without affecting application availability

zDMF frees you from manual data set migration and potentially speeds the deployment of new storage technology. It does this by supporting non-disruptive data-set migrations in multivendor environments. It also enables model (MOD) consolidation of any size. zDMF streamlines closed data-set copying. You can copy data sets that are closed when migration begins, giving you faster migration of data sets that are not in use.

Effective UCB management and extent consolidation

Moving and consolidating data sets from multiple small-volume subsystems to a few large-volume subsystems can enhance unit control-block (UCB) management. zDMF can complete a DB2 data migration without disrupting applications. You can immediately reclaim hundreds of UCBs and use them to support new business initiatives.

Divert option and selective extent migration

zDMF also helps you either schedule a DIVERT command or set a “divert when ready” option to allow for automated transitions to the diversion phase. This helps eliminate the need to manually issue the DIVERT command. Rather than a single approach to data migration, zDMF allows you to migrate selected extents of a multi-volume data set. This capability can shorten migration time, circumvent the need for additional storage and enable more efficient migration management through automation.

Technical details

Software requirements

IBM Transparent Data Migration Facility (TDMF®) for z/OS is recommended for use in conjunction with zDMF to allow both data-set and volume-level migrations, providing an efficient and cost-effective migration approach.